Around Town

Watertown Residents & Students Celebrate Memory of Martin Luther King Jr. on 50th Anniversary of His Death

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The following was submitted by the groups that sponsored the vigil:

An intrepid and solemn group of Watertown residents and students came together in a Vigil on Watertown Square – amid dark skies, rain, and wind – to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Wednesday, the 50th anniversary of his assassination. But as the 50 participants gathered to hear the words of Dr. King, the sun emerged and bathed the group – and the flag above – in soft evening light. The Vigil was timed to coincide with the exact time of Dr. King’s assassination (at 6:01 p.m.), and began with Vigil participants standing together along Main St and Galen St. Participants held signs with quotes from Dr. King’s many inspiring speeches, as well as yellow daffodils to symbolize the gravity and
solemnity of the occasion. After the public witness to passers-by in the Square, Vigil participants gathered in a circle in the Delta to hear the words of Dr. King and join together in song.

Government

Long Time Watertown Building Inspector Passes Away

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Watertown Building Inspector Ken Thompson passed away on April 2, 2018. He had worked for the Town’s Planning Department for nearly 14 years. 

Thompson always had a quick wit, remembered Steve Magoon, the Assistant Town Manager and Director of the Department of Economic Development and Planning. “He was someone who was big in stature and had a real big presence, independent of his size,” Magoon said. “He always had a quick wit and joke to offer for everyone which would lighten the mood when things got intense.” Thompson, 72, of Lynnfield, would have worked for the Town for 14 years in June, Magoon said, and he was not only the local building inspector but also the building commissioner.

Schools

Proposed School Budget Adds Some New Positions, Saves by Eliminating Others

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Superintendent Dede Galdston presented a $48 million budget to the School Committee that would include a $2.2 million (4.9 percent) increase over the current school year and would add some positions but also eliminate some positions on the book without any layoffs. The Fiscal 2019 (2018-19 School Year) increase fits within the 5 percent funding increase that Town Manager Michael Driscoll has put in the overall Town Budget for education. “Watertown is very generous with it schools,” Galdston said. “A 5 percent increase is phenomenal.” The School Budget would need an increase of 4.1 percent would provide “level services” for the Watertown Public Schools, leaving $414,500 for new initiatives, but Galdston rearranged and restructure items in the budget to make another $734,000 available for new initiatives.

FBI

Watertown Police Lieutenant Returns from FBI Training With New Knowledge and a Brick

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For decades, Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor has had the goal of attending the FBI’s National Academy, and this year he finally got the chance to be one of the select few members of law enforcement to attend the course. After the intense 10-week program one of the most prize possessions he returned home with was a brick covered in yellow paint sitting on a wooden stand. Just one percent of the nation’s local, county and state law enforcement officers get the chance to attend the National Academy at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia. O’Connor was part of a class of 223 people from 48 states and 18 countries outside the U.S.

O’Connor, a Watertown native, first heard about the National Academy when he was a young police. “I have a friend who went through it, and I went to visit him (at the Academy) in 1997,” O’Connor said.

Entertainment

Folk Singer Songwriters Cindy Kallet, Grey Larsen Performing at Tremedal Concert

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This weekend the latest Tremedal Concert features Cindy Kallet and Grey Larsen.

Scott Alarik of The Boston Globe calls Cindy one of folk musics most respected songwriters provocative, heartwise, and original a brilliant guitarist. Mike Joyce of the Washington Post calls Grey a gifted multi-instrumentalist who consistently demonstrates his melodic finesse, while The New Mexico Daily describes his playing as positively spellbinding. Cindy and Grey have also appeared with host Andrea Seabrook on National Public Radios Weekend All Things Considered. The concert will be on Friday, April 6, from 8 p.m. at First Parish Unitarian Church of Watertown, 35 Church Street, Watertown. The Tremedal Concerts benefit the Watertown-El Salvador Sister City Project.

Schools

School Committee Decides on Busing Changes for Fall 2018

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The School Committee voted to approve having four school buses next year, one more than this year, in hopes of serving as many Watertown students as possible despite the change in start time at the middle school. The bus the fees will also change for some. The later start time for Watertown Middle School meant that it would be harder to make runs both there and to Hosmer Elementary School using the same bus. When the School Committee last met they considered keeping three buses but cutting down the number of students who would be able to ride the bus. Town Council President and School Committee member Mark Sideris said he and other got a “significant number of phone calls on the subject.

Charity

Watertown Company Hosts Fundraiser for Wounded Member of a Navy Explosives Disposal Unit

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A fundraiser for a member of a Navy explosives disposal unit who suffered injuries in Syria when a boobytrap exploded. The event featured two IRONMAN champions and was hosted by Watertown-based NormaTec. The March 24 event raised $6,500 for the Navy Special Operations Foundation (NSOF) and for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Chief Kenton Stacy and his family, according to Suzanna Fisher, Director of Program Development for NSOF. Ohio-native Stacy is a member of an elite Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit assigned to assist Special Forces. He is fighting to recover from serious injuries sustained in Raqqa, Syria in November 2017.

Development

Mixed Use Condo and Retail Project on Mt. Auburn Street Gets Approved

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A project that will build three stories of condos on top of a level of commercial or retail space got the approval of the Watertown Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday. 

The building at 33 Mt. Auburn Street will have 15 condos and 1,924 sq. ft. of commercial or retail space. It will go on the property near Watertown Square (across Taylor Street from the New Yorker Diner) that has been vacant for several years and was once the home of Port Oil.